When I started working with my Uncle Bob last summer, I assumed that construction would be an easy, fun way to make a few extra bucks. However, I quickly discovered that construction work was serious business, filled with risks, difficulty, and rewards. After almost being creamed by a few backhoe booms, I learned how to stay out of the way. However, staying safe around heavy machinery isn't always easy to do. My blog talks about how to use machinery properly and what you need to do to stay safe so that you can return home to your family each and every day.

Staying Safe Around Heavy Machinery

Homeowners renting heavy equipment for various landscaping projects may not have a lot of experience running machinery like skid steers or backhoes. If you are planning to rent a machine to help you get a big job done, learning more about the machine is important for your safety. Follow these important safety tips for getting your landscape project done without sustaining serious injury or equipment damage.

Heavily Wooded Areas

If you are clearing a wooded area to build on or to extend your existing landscape, you will be removing trees and possibly heavy bramble like wild shrubbery. The heavy equipment you rent to clear a wooded area needs to have safety cage around the windows. Otherwise, you risk a falling tree breaking through or crushing the cab. If a tree goes through the glass panels, it could seriously injure or kill you. In most cases, the trees you do not want will be cut down ahead of time with a chainsaw. However, if you have been out clearing and you unknowingly loosen the ground around a tree, it could become unstable enough to fall. Always make sure you pay close attention to how much ground you are removing or running over when using heavy equipment in a wooded area, especially when it is in an area close to several big trees.

Inclines And Steep Hills

Any type of machinery can easily tip over and roll when being used on a hill or even an incline that doesn't look too steep. If you have never operated a tractor on a hill, getting someone that has before is the best way to go. If you roll over in a tractor, you not only risk serious injury, but you will alsohave to pay the rental company for the damageto the tractor. Before you start a clearing and landscaping job that requires the use of heavy equipment, discuss your options with the rental company about also renting a trained, experienced operator.

Running a heavy machine can be challenging, but it can also be the best way to get a job done fast. If you worry about your safety, but you know a machine is the only way to get your project finished, planning ahead for it is best. If you are on a budget and worry about the cost of also renting an operator, planning ahead will allow you the time to locate someone you can afford. For more safety tips when renting heavy equipment, visit a site like http://soundequipmentrentals.net.